Measles outbreak in Bangladesh claims six more lives, 2026 death toll climbs to 1269
Dhaka, Nov 4 (IANS/WISHAVWARTA) At least six children have died from the measles outbreak in Bangladesh on Wednesday, raising the total number of confirmed and suspected deaths from the disease to 1,269 this year, amid an escalating health crisis in the country, local media reported.
According to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), the deaths were reported in the 24 hours leading up to Wednesday morning.
The latest six fatalities from the disease were identified as suspected, Bangladeshi media outlet UNB reported.
Reports suggest that while the number of confirmed deaths remained at 105, the total number of suspected deaths climbed to 1,164.
The DGHS recorded a total of 1,325 new suspected measles cases during the 24-hour period, bringing the overall tally of suspected cases to 234,148.
Additionally, 77 new confirmed cases were reported, increasing the total to 24,150 during the same period.
Speaking to The Sunday Guardian last month, former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said that the measles “epidemic” was the result of “state negligence” and the collapse of decades-old immunisation system.
Hasina accused the former Muhammad Yunus-led interim administration of disrupting vaccine procurement through its political and administrative decisions, leading to a considerable immunisation gap.
She alleged that Bangladesh’s measles-rubella vaccine stocks were exhausted in March 2026, followed by a sharp decline in vaccination coverage. She also claimed that the authorities failed to launch a supplementary vaccination campaign at the scheduled time.
Hasina further criticised Prime Minister Tarique Rahman-led BNP government, alleging that the authorities failed to take adequate action after the severity of the outbreak became evident
“More than one thousand children dying from a preventable disease is not an ordinary administrative failure,” she added.
The former Prime Minister called for uninterrupted vaccine supplies, targeted immunisation campaigns for vulnerable communities, real-time disease monitoring, expanded paediatric healthcare facilities and an independent probe into the alleged procurement and vaccination failures.
Furthermore, Be-nazir Ahmed, former director of disease control at DGHS last month said that despite Bangladesh reinstating vaccine procurement through UNICEF in April, followed by an emergency vaccination drive, the epidemic is unlikely to be quickly contained given the speed of transmission, Bangladesh’s leading newspaper ‘The Daily Star’ reported.
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